
Opinion
Android: great for innovation in Europe
Android has been a force for good, not a walled garden of software, writes Google's president for Europe.
Monday
21st Nov 2016

Android has been a force for good, not a walled garden of software, writes Google's president for Europe.

Publishers welcomed EU proposals for a new right that could see them take a bite out of Google's income, but some say the law could end up hurting Google's smaller rivals.

The commission president said "every European village and every city" will have public internet access in 2020, but the statement was not backed up by any legally binding target.
An EU proposal to let academics digitally sift data is a step in the right direction, but if everybody had that right, the digital market could blossom.
The antitrust investigation opened by the European Commission against the US Internet giant risks fragmenting the mobile applications environment and discourage investments.
Social network should stop tracking Belgians who aren't a member, a court said, or pay a daily penalty of €250,000.

Privacy advocacy group Digital Rights Ireland is challenging Privacy Shield at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, it has been revealed.

The EU commission's president asked his administration to withdraw a draft proposal on roaming charges, because he knew about it after it was public.

In the same week the commission published a draft proposal limiting a ban on roaming fees to 90 days a year, the text is withdrawn.

Edward Snowden, a former US security contractor, has disputed claims the US government has narrowed surveillance under the new EU-US Privacy Shield data pact.
EU commission proposal to give mobile phone operators exceptions to the ban on roaming was immediately criticised. It is, however, quite understandable.
While other sectors fall apart, Europe's digital economy is booming thanks to smaller countries like Estonia, Finland and Ireland. They need to shout louder about their ambitions.
Europe’s messy copyright legal framework doesn’t belong in the 21st century. A citizens' movement can help reform it.
The EU Commission wants online messaging services to follow the same privacy rules as telecom companies. The industry says privacy checks will hurt the market.
The EU's new data protection deal with the US fails to guarantee privacy or security, says Max Schrems, the activist who brought down the scheme's predecessor.
EU Commission proposals to free up online shopping, but not film or music. Include quota for audiovisual providers to sell 20 percent European content.
Antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the proposed deal, worth a reported €13 billion, would hurt consumers and innovation.
Digital commissioner Ansip tells journalists it is "practically impossible" to govern all online platforms with the same regulation.
As connecting everyday items to the internet is set to become a normality, the EU Commission is trying to develop a 5G network to cope with the extra demands.

Negotiators from the European Parliament and national governments have reached an agreement on new cyber-security rules. Amazon, Ebay and Google are expected to be affected.

The European Commission appears to be postponing key reforms of the EU's fragmented copyright system, according to a leaked paper.
Ireland's data protection commissioner has been ordered to launch a privacy probe into Facebook data transfers from Europe to the United States.
Two-thirds of Europeans are unaware of who is responsible for protecting their digital rights.

Citizens may ask national authorities for a second opinion, but figures compiled by EUobserver show that very few people are exercising this right to appeal.

European data protection supervisor, Giovanni Buttarelli, says there is not enough information to justify the necessity of the EU Passenger Name Record scheme, which stores and can divulge the personal details of passengers flying in and out of Europe.
Over a thousand protesters blocked streets in Brussels. Uber accused taxi drivers of "trying to protect their monopoly".
EU and US have signed a data protection agreement following 2013 revelations that US security services conduct mass, indiscriminate surveillance on EU citizens.

Google announced that it has sent Brussels “evidence and data to show why the [EU's] concerns are unfounded”

Germany's justice minister on Tuesday fired the country's top prosecutor Harald Range over his treason investigation of two journalists, in a case that has gripped the country over recent days.
Google argues it does not have to apply EU law on its international website google.com, only on its European versions.
EU data privacy chief Giovanni Buttarelli has said a forthcoming law gathering detailed information on air passengers is too invasive and is unlikely to stop terrorism.